Div. Three of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that a trial judge erred in granting a motion for partial judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to the willful intent element required for an award of treble damages in a case asserting a claim against an Orange County Sheriff’s Department employee who shared the plaintiff’s mental health records relating to a temporary involuntary commitment with the patient’s sister.

Alameda County is violating a reporter’s constitutional rights by prohibiting him and other spectators from standing within 200 feet of the automobile street stunts known as sideshows, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The California Supreme Court on August 28 reversed the death sentence of Jason Alejandro Aguirre, ruling that changes in state law governing gang enhancements invalidated the basis for his capital punishment. The unanimous decision among the concurring justices affirms Aguirre’s murder and attempted murder convictions but removes the death penalty and all gang-related findings.

At the heart of the legal battle is a fundamental question about who controlled the public money that flowed into the city’s biggest project. The decision could have statewide implications.